Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	evil_a	great_a	sin_n	2,789	5	5.0653	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62590	A sermon preached before the King, Febr. 26th 1674/5 John Tillotson ...	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1675 (1675)	Wing T1227; ESTC R10018	12,574	38

and miscarriages of our lives I thought on my ways that is I called my sins to remembrance I took a particular account of the errors of my life and laid them seriously to heart I considered all the circumstances and consequences of them and all other things belonging to them and reasoning the matter throughly with my self came to a peremptory and fixed resolution of breaking off this wicked course of life and betaking my self to the obedience of God's Laws And the consideration of our ways taken in this sense which seems to be the more probable meaning of the Words may reasonably imply in it these following particulars 1. The taking of a particular account of our fins together with the several circumstances and aggravations of them 2. A hearty trouble and sorrow for them I thought on my ways that is I laid them sadly to heart 3. A serious consideration of the evil and unreasonableness of a sinful course 4. A due sense of the fearful and fatal consequences of a wicked life 5. A full conviction of the necessity of quitting this course 6. An apprehension of the possibility of doing this 1. The taking of a particular account of our sins together with the several circumstances and aggravations of them And to this end we may do well to reflect particularly upon the several stages and periods of our lives and to recollect at least the principal miscarriages belonging to each of them And the better to enable us hereto it will be useful to have before our eyes some abridgement or summary of the Laws of God containing the chief heads of duties and sins of virtues and vices For this will help to bring many of our faults and neglects to our remembrance which otherwise perhaps would have been forgotten by us We should likewise consider the several relations wherein we have stood to others and how far we have transgressed or failed of our duty in any of those respects And having thus far made up our sad account we may in a great measure understand the number and greatness of our sins abating for some particulars which are slipp'd out of our memory and for sins of ignorance and dayly infirmities which are innumerable By all which we may see what vile wretches and grievous offenders we have been especially if we take into consideration the several heavy circumstances of our sins which do above measure aggravate them the heinousness of many of them as to their nature and the injurious consequences of them to the person or estate or reputation of our neighbour their having been committed against the clear knowledg of our duty against the frequent checks and convictions of our consciences telling us when we did them that we did amiss against so many motions and suggestions of Gods Holy Spirit so many admonitions and reproofs from others and contrary to our own most serious vows and resolutions renewed at several times especially upon the receiving of the blessed Sacrament and in times of sickness and distress and all this notwithstanding the plainest declarations of Gods will to the contrary notwithstanding the terrors of the Lord and the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men notwithstanding the cruel sufferings of the Son of God for our sins and the most merciful offers of pardon and reconciliation in his blood Add to this the scandal of our wicked lives to our holy Religion the ill example of them to the corrupting and debauching of others the affront of them to the Divine Authority and the horrible ingratitude of them to the mercy and goodness and patience of God to which we have such infinite obligations Thus we should set our sins in order before our eyes with the several aggravations of them 2. A hearty trouble and sorrow for sin I thought on my ways that is I laid my sins sadly to heart And surely whenever we remember the faults and follies of our lives we cannot but be inwardly touched and sensibly grieved at the thoughts of them we cannot but hang down our heads and smite upon our breasts and be in pain and heaviness at our very hearts I know that the tempers of men are very different and therefore I do not say that tears are absolutely necessary to repentance but they do very well become it and a thorough sense of sin will almost melt the most hard and obdurate disposition and fetch water out of a very rock To be sure the consideration of our ways should cause inward trouble and confusion in our minds The least we can do when we have done amiss is to be sorry for it to condemn our own folly and to be full of indignation and displeasure against our selves for what we have done and to resolve never to do the like again And let us make sure that our trouble and sorrow for sin have this effect to make us leave our sins and then we shall need to be the less solicitous about the degrees and outward expressions of it 3. A serious consideration of the evil and unreasonableness of a sinful course That sin is the stain and blemish of our natures the reproach of our reason and understanding the disease and the deformity of our souls the great enemy of our peace the cause of all our fears and troubles That whenever we do a wicked action we go contrary to the clearest dictates of our reason and conscience to our plain and true interest and to the strongest tyes and obligations of duty and gratitude And which renders it yet more unreasonable sin is a voluntary evil which men wilfully bring upon themselves Other evils may be forced upon us whether we will or no a man may be poor or sick by misfortune but no man is wicked and vitious but by his own choice How do we betray our folly and weakness by suffering our selves to be hurried away by every foolish lust and passion to do things which we know to be prejudicial and hurtful to our selves and so base and unworthy in themselves that we are ashamed to do them not only in the presence of a wise man but even of a child or a fool So that if sin were followed with no other punishment besides the guilt of having done a shameful thing a man would not by intemperance make himself a fool and a beast one would not be false and unjust treacherous or unthankful if for no other reason yet out of meer greatness and generosity of mind out of respect to the dignity of his nature and out of very reverence to his own reason and understanding For let Witty men say what they will in defence of their vices there are so many natural acknowledgments of the evil and unreasonableness of sin that the matter is past all denial Men are generally galled and uneasie at the thoughts of an evil action both before and after they have committed it they are ashamed to be taken in a crime and heartily vexed and